Stones fit in so well, says artist
Saturday 23rd April 2011, 2:29PM BST.
Artist Andy Goldsworthy leans on the stone overlooking Braye Bay as he welcomes the people who joined him on a walk around all 11. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 1127059)
ARTIST Andy Goldsworthy’s Alderney Stones have been officially unveiled.
Eleven mud and clay sculptures have been placed around the island’s coastline, where the elements will erode them and slowly reveal their contents.
Mr Goldsworthy led a walk on Thursday to show off his creations.
The British sculptor, who has completed similar projects in America, Canada and Japan, said the 3.5 tonne boulders had blended effortlessly into the landscape.
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What was the cost of these?
Who paid for them?
I can predict what is going to happen.
It would be wrong to tempt fate.
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Of course he’s going to say they have “blended effortlessly into the landscape”. The truth is that they havn’t. They are ugly, costly & are a completly un-needed eyesore for the islands surroundings which were beautiful without these stupid things. I hope that when they “erode”, they will not petrude sharp objects that can injure chuldren or animals. In my opinion, the most beautiful & natural parts of the island have been shown no respect!
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Can’t understand your problems! Have passed the one at the Nunnery 10 times and it is already part of the landscape! In a few months the colour will probably have faded and they are not placed in the middle of town, the airport or outside your front doors! As for cost and to whom, no idea. Money is never spent on anything that everybody agrees on!
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Paul, William, so negative and so angry?
A big ball of clay is hardly an enduring blot on the landscape. They won’t be there for ever. It’s something different going on on the island and has already brought in some much needed publicity and some visitors.
I can’t say I find them offensive in the least but beauty is subjective. There is plenty of abandoned junk about the place far more of an eyesore than these.
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Just returned from a lovely weekend in beautiful Alderney.
On our walks we saw two of these ugly monstrosities.
I want to employ the man who talked Guernsey (I am informed) into paying for these. If he can convince them to buy an ugly clay ball he must be one hell of a salesman.
Nobody I spoke to in Alderney had a good word to say about them.
Fortunately they will deteriorate. If I can help in the process, I shall hotfoot backto Alderney.
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Does anybody know the full actual costings involved with these?
I’d hazard a guess at around £7500. Possibly a little bit more when everything is taken into consideration.
I’m well aware art is subjective. This kind of wastage, in times of economic slowdown, is pure madness.
One can’t put a price on art. Only the artist & often delirious purchaser can work out an amicable figure.
Andy Goldsworthy must be chirping with whatever figure he has been paid. I’m well aware the average artist finds talking about the price of previous works vulgar.
They’re always unsurprisingly happy to discuss commission on similar work though.
It’s tax payers money. It’s a reasonable question too.
This has to be a hair brained excuse to grant favours whilst soaking up the annual budget allowance.
Will a journalist ask a few leading questions?
I wonder if many would say they offer good value for money?
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Paul, william, jerseynige. Take a chill pill.
1 These clay balls didn’t cost Alderney anything.
2 Items inside were collected from Alderney’s beaches. Therefore the artist has helped clear the beautiful beaches of ‘litter’
3 They are made from clay dug from fields in Alderney.
4 People have already come to Alderney just to see them. Jerseynige is even going to pay to come back & help with the erosion. (Which is what the artist wants.Natural erosion & human/animal intervention)
You couldn’t have spoken to many as I know loads who can’t see what the problem is. The artist has done what artists intend as he has everyone talking about his work.
As for an eyesore. I don’t think so, besides there are a lot more eyesores on the island than 10 clay balls. Try looking at the states recycling facility or the cliffs around the impot. Far more things to injure children or animals there I think.
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I thought i would of hated them but to be honest i have seen 3-4 of them and they dont look that bad. like people say they are made naturally from stuff around the island, plus there are far more things here that dont help the island.
They will erode quickly especially the ones near the sea, so its just going to go back into the sea where it came.
so the people who hate them, i would get over it and just accept them as they are not going anywhere not until nature does its job. :)
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I wonder how long a large clay ball would last in the shrubbery at the North plantation
Two weekends? … possibly three before the urinal hidden inside would be exposed?
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Ollie
Are you in the know?
Must I assume he paid his travel costs & living expenses out of the goodness of his heart then?
The pieces were created purely for the love of art & for art’s sake.
Get some facts. Get real too.
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Ollie
They wouldn’t have cost Alderney any money. That much is true. It would have been funded by taxpayers & COFE.
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I apologize I maybe not in possession of all the facts & figures just what I’ve read & heard from Alderney Tourism. As for Andy Goldsworthy’s expenses, you’d have to ask him.
Maybe you could find the info you need here http://www.alderneystones.com
There are very many thanks to Island people in his acknowledgement section. So I guess not everyone dislikes them or the wouldn’t help.
So far the publicity Alderney has had in TV & newspapers local & national is in valuable. That amount of advertising would’ve cost more than £7500. I bet Gateshead have had more visitors since ‘The Angel Of The North’ was erectected. Which at the time I remember had mixed views.
The point I’m trying to make is there are lots of things here that people like & dislike. German bunkers for instance don’t look pretty but people do come just to look around them. The island is small and any publicity we can get has to be good. Lets just live & let live.
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What’s art without controversy? :)
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Now I know what is meant, when I hear someone say that they are going up to Alderney for the weekend, and get stoned !
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‘Stones fit in so well’ says artist…
duh…
Of course he did. He is hardly likely to make and place them and then say, ‘so everyone what do you think of my waste and time and money ?!’
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@Ollie
Please don’t tell me you just compared some balls to the German bunkers?
Although, It’s a good point, The remnants of the German occupation could be a MASSIVE tourist attraction, The states need to invest more in them, maybe clean them out and advertise them more
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John Doe
No I’m not comparing them to German bunkers that was just an ‘attraction’ that sprung to mind which some believe to be an eyesore. Just pointing out them peoples interest vary. Some may like bunkers some think they should be blown up. Some like fishing some don’t. Some like the seaside some don’t some like boozing some don’t some like stone balls…..Get my drift. All I’m saying is if it brings people here & they spend money it can’t be all bad.
Yes I agree the bunkers could do with some investment and make them more of a tourist attraction. Not sure all would agree though.
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@ John Doe – good point on the bunkers. I believe the Wildlife Trust want to do something with the Fortress Commanders bunker up at the new woodland site but it’ll take some investment.
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@John,
I have been saying for years our island has a huge history that people would love to pay to see. If they did parts of the forts up to the way they used to be, i mean some forts still have the old showers, markings and cookign equipment in.. I would love to see how it was like in those days
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Give me Goldsworthy’s balls over those grotesque concrete monuments to Nazi occupation any day of the week.
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Sorry to post again so quickly but I simply couldn’t resist this little gem from the 20th century Canadian poet Louis Dudek:
“The philistine provides the best definition of art. Anything that makes him rage is first class.”
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Dear Ollie: I understand that they have created a lot of interest but wouldn’t it have been nicer if they had been things of beauty that enhanced the lovelyness of Alderney rather than detract from its natural beauty?
When they have disintegrated, what will happen to the rubbish that was collected from the beaches to construct them?
Works of art should improve things,something these lumps of clay do not.
I am an Alderney lover and hate to see these. The Island’s natural beauty is enough for me. I just wish Jersey was as naturally lovely.
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I have very little feeling towards them. I’m more interested in the facts about the overall cost.
Reinstating the concentration camps & preserving what is there for future generations would be a massive scoop.
Organised educational facilities marketed around the world could offer endless prospects.
I’m sure many universities would relish the opportunity researching the facts to the nth degree.
Film companies would be interested in the setting for future productions.
The island has lots going for it. It’s history during the occupation was an important one.
It just needs somebody to recognise it. In the right hands, those with can do attitudes, the island could easily be a gold mine.
Alderney Week is proof of what can be achieved when people pull in the same direction.
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i for one think that the Balls are very eye catching and think they are a great addition to the island. no matter to cost you are missing the point of what obviously is a tranquil setting for some tranquil scuplture. firstly i would like to state that they mirror Alderney with a remarkable critique, and a self satisfaction that is second to none. i congradulate you mr Golsworthy.
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“I hope that when they “erode”, they will not petrude sharp objects that can injure chuldren or animals”
LMAO!
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The stones are really unattractive. Sure, art is subjective, but what purpose are they really serving? Also, re. the nude statue on Herm… why was that placed there? It is neither attractive or of historical importance. The reason tourists come to the islands is mostly because of the stunning landscape. The money spent on this kind of artwork could go elsewhere.
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So, there are ten of these spherical, mud-pie, “works of art”?
What a load of balls!
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modern day artist= wind up merchant
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My dear Paul, please understand that the stones didn’t cost Alderney a penny. The project, including Mr Goldsworthy’s plane tickets and accommodation, was funded by Arts & Islands, based in Guernsey. Arts & Islands is sponsored by several finance companies, including HSBC. The States of Alderney and Visit Alderney didn’t contribute anything to the project. If the project had depended on States finance, do you honestly think it would have happened?
The stones are striking and have already raised Alderney’s profile. More people will visit as a result. Did you not notice how many attended the unveiling walk?
Now stop whining.
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These stones are hidious! They are nothing more than ugly mud piles that have actually spoilt our beautiful coastline. It’s actually embarrassing to be honest. What a shame that we have to build piles of cr@p & try to pass it off as art to attract people to the island! Art??? Give me a break.
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That’s your opinion William and you’re entitled to it. Not all of us agree with you I’m afraid.
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Re the funding: The (taxpayer-funded) Guernsey Arts Commission has made a grant of £12,000, plus £3,000 underwriting, to the Arts & Islands Foundation for 2011. See here:
http://www.arts.gg/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Organizations-and-Events-Supported-by-the-Guernsey-Arts-Commission-up-to-date-for-March-2011.pdf
The other funding partners are HSBC and Hiscox. See here:
http://www.artandislands.com/partners/
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Too true Hello, but same back at ya!
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mike
Get your facts straight before seeking to criticize others in future.
Taxpayers money has partly funded this project. FYI, it’s you that’s misinformed not me.
I started the thread on the cost versus the value. I said nothing of how I felt about them.
Maybe you can indicate where I have whined about them?
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They didn’t cost the taxpayer anything; they’re only temporary; arguably they’re works of art.
How can you get so hot around the collar about them? As a matter of fact, I rather like them but that’s my opinion.
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Ed,
‘They didn’t cost the taxpayer anything’
- Hmm. The GAC doesn’t say what the £12,000 grant from general revenue to the Foundation which funded the stones is for – it may be for future projects (if so, what?), but I’d be surprised if none of it is to cover the costs of the Stones.
‘Arguably they’re works of art’
- arguably yes. But actually the GAC has more tightly-defined aims and objectives than funding ‘art’. See http://www.arts.gg/index.php/about-us/aims-objectives/ – we ought to be judging the GAC’s results in terms of its published objectives, not whether it’s art or not.
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£12,000 equates to 18p for each of the 65,000 residents of the Bailiwick.
@ William – I trust you’ve also vented your anger at those who’s abandoned old vehicles and assorted cr@p also litter the island? There’s plenty to be keeping you busy and by the time you’re done knocking on doors I suspect the ‘mud pies’ will be but a distant memory…..
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In answer to your question, yes I have. In letters to States Members personally & conversation.
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